One month later
Juan Carlos couldn’t stop grinning as he held Portia in his arms and danced to the royal orchestra’s rendition of “Unforgettable” under hundreds of strung lights and a moonlit sky on the grounds of the newly restored farmhouse. This place that Bella and James would someday call home was where Juan Carlos and Portia had found love, too, and it seemed fitting to have a small intimate exchange of promised vows here in front of their close friends and family. His new bride dressed in satin and ivory lace, with his mother’s diamond wedding ring sparkling on her finger, was the most beautiful woman on the planet.
“Are you happy?” he asked, fairly certain his answer was found in the sky-blue gleam in her eyes.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been happier.”
“That’s how I want to keep it, sweetheart.” He pressed her close and kissed her forehead, brushing his lips over her cheeks and nose and finally landing on her sweet mouth.
“I loved our sunset wedding,” Portia said. “This is a special place.”
Their first dance ended and Juan Carlos swung Portia to a stop in the center of the circle of their guests, who applauded them, their dance and their marriage. Portia’s elegant grace, her help in discovering the hidden artworks and her work with local charities had endeared her to the country. Even the doubters had begun to come around as she constantly proved to them that she belonged at his side. It was a good thing, too, because Juan Carlos would rather give up the throne than live without Portia.
His cousins approached. “Welcome to the family, Portia,” Rafe said, his very pregnant wife on his arm. “We couldn’t be happier for you both.”
“It was a lovely ceremony,” Emily said.
“Thank you. I’ve heard all about your special ceremony, as well,” Portia offered, glancing at Emily, Rafe, Gabe and Serafia. “I’ve never attended a double wedding before.”
“We wish we would’ve known you then,” Serafia added.
“Might’ve been a triple wedding, who knows?” Gabe said with a teasing smile.
Juan Carlos found it all amusing. His cousins had met their wives in uncanny ways and now every one of them was married. Rafe had resumed his position as head of Montoro Enterprises and the company was thriving. Good thing, too, because Rafe’s father had decided to retire in Alma. After the ceremony he’d been the first to offer his congratulations, giving Portia a kiss on the cheek and wrapping Juan Carlos in a tight embrace. Juan Carlos owed a great deal to the man who had raised him from early childhood.
Gabe, the younger of his male cousins, had finally shed his bad boy ways and settled down with his lifelong friend and love, Serafia.
“I think I just felt something,” Bella announced. She took James’s hand and placed it on her small rounded belly. “Here, see if you can feel the baby.”
James kept his hand there several seconds. “I’m not sure,” he said softly, diplomatically. “It’s early yet, isn’t it, honey?”
“Maybe for you, but I think I felt it.” Bella’s eyes were two bright beams of light. She was carrying James’s child.
James kissed her lips. “I can’t wait to feel our baby, too.”
Portia slipped her hand in Juan Carlos’s and they watched the scene play out. James had one child already and Bella was proving to be a fantastic stepmother to one-year-old Maisey. And now, their family was expanding. Juan Carlos was glad that Bella and James had settled in Alma and James was back playing professional soccer—football as they called it here—and winning games for the home team. Things had been rough there for a while between James and his father, oil tycoon Patrick Rowling. Patrick had picked James’s twin brother, Will, to marry Bella. The arranged marriage was an antiquated notion to say the least, and Bella was having none of it. James was the man for her. And then Will had also found love with Catalina Ibarra, his father’s maid. The whole thing had sent Patrick into a nosedive but he was finally coming around and softening to the idea that perhaps his sons could make up their own minds about their love life and beyond.
“Now that we’re all here together, I have good news to share with all of you,” Juan Carlos said. He couldn’t help his ever-present smile from intensifying. He had his family’s attention now. “I’m told by Alex and the prime minister that Alma has never seen a better year. The country is well on its way to being financially solvent again. Thanks in part to our efforts here, I might add. With the discovery of the lost art treasure, tourism will climb, especially once we put those pieces on public display. We are working to that end. Since the state of Alma is now finally secure once again, a sizable portion of the Montoro fortune has been repatriated. It has been decided that the money will fund a new public school system named for my grandmother Isabella Salazar.”
“That’s wonderful,” Bella said.
Rafe and Gabe slapped him on the back with congratulations.
“If it wasn’t for Tia Isabella’s determination to see the Montoros return to Alma in her lifetime—and those letters I discovered—none of this would even be possible,” Bella said.
It was true. Juan Carlos wouldn’t be king, he would never have met Portia and who knew what would have happened among his other family members. “We owe my grandmother quite a bit.”
They took a solemn moment to give thanks to Isabella.
And then the orchestra music started up again.
Couples paired off and moved onto the dance floor.
Little Maisey Rowling had woken up from her nap. Wearing pink from head to toe, she was sitting on the front porch playing with the palace kittens alongside Portia’s maids in attendance, Jasmine and Maria Ramon.
“I owe those two women a dance,” Juan Carlos said to Portia. “If not for them, you may never have come back to Alma. Actually, I owe them much more than that.”
“Yes, but first, my love, I have a wedding gift for you. I hope it will match the one you gave me. I cannot wait another second to give it to you.”
“Okay,” he said, eager to please her. “I’m yours.”
She tugged him to the back of the house, to the garden area that was in full bloom, despite the late fall climate. Oh, the miracle of royalty that made all things possible. She sat him down on the white iron bench and then took a seat beside him.
“Juan Carlos,” she began, taking his hands and holding them in her lap. “You have given me your love, a new family and a beautiful palace to live in.”
“You deserve all those things, sweetheart.”
“But there’s one thing missing. One thing I want and hope you want, too.”
He had no clue where she was going with this. He had everything he wanted. “Have you found another brood of cats to adopt?”
She shook her head and grinned, her eyes beaming with the same glow he’d seen in Bella’s. His heart stopped beating. He gathered his thoughts and came to the only conclusion he could.
“You’re not?”
She nodded now, bobbing her head up and down rapidly. “I am.”
“We’re going to have a baby?”
“Yes!”
A glance at her belly gave him no indication. “When?”
“Seven months from now.”
Carefully, he pulled her onto his lap. “I’m...I’m...going to be a father.”
“Yes, you are.”
He curved his hand around her nape and brought his lips close to hers. “You’re going to be a mother.”
“Yes.”
The idea filled him with pride. His Portia would give him a child. It was the best gift in the world. His mouth touched hers reverently and he tasted the sweetness of her lips. “I couldn’t be happier, sweetheart.”
“I’m glad. Our baby will grow up in a home filled with love. Neither one of us knew our parents for very long. But now, we will have a family of our own. It’s quite unexpected...”
“It’s all I’ve ever wanted, Portia. For us to be a family.”
“Really?”
He nodded. His throat constricted. His emotions had finally caught up to him today. His life had come full circle—the orphaned boy who would be king, married to his heart’s desire, was to have a family all his own now.
There was no better kingdom on earth than for a man to share his life with the woman he loved.
He and Portia were two of a kind.
Almas Iguales.
Equal souls.
* * * * *
DYNASTIES: THE MONTOROS
One royal family must choose between love and destiny!
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